“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” and a History of the Literature Character

“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” is out in theaters, being a sequel to the original “Jack Reacher.“ However, many people might assume this was a new idea created to fit in with star Tom Cruise. This is not the case, as Jack Reacher is a literary character in a series of books written by Lee Child. In fact, Reacher’s description is much different than Cruise, with reacher described as having blonde hair, blue eyes, and standing at a height of 6 feet 5 inches.

In the books, Reacher was born in a military base in Berlin, Germany on October 29, 1960 to military officer Stan Reacher and a French woman named Josephine Moutier. Jack also has an older brother, Joe, but he and his parents are all deceased. After shutting around the world from his father’s constant reassignments, Reacher would end up at West Point’s United States Military Academy from 1979 to 1983. He would end up in the military, and serve for 13 years in the Military Police branch of the Army in the 110th Special Investigations Unit. He earned such metals as the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Soldier’s Medal, and the Purple Heart.

After 13 years, Reacher would retire with the rank of Major due to insulting a Lieutenant Colonel during a case in Mississippi. Since he spent most of his time overseas, Reacher decided to explore the United States and find out more about the land he had been protecting in the military. His travels would usually land him in difficult situations, where he would use his military and policing skills to help others like a modern-day knight errant. He first made his appearance in Killing Floor in 1997, and spanned more than 20 books and 9 short stories. The first film is based of the 2005 book One Shot, while the sequel is based of the 2013 novel Never Go Back. The most recent novel that will release is Night School, and is coming out November 8 of this year.